"There's negligible-to-nothing effects", he said accusing the MSM of hyping prospects of a trade war.

"We're comfortable that we're going to manage through this so that it is not detrimental to our growth projections", he toldFox Business. However, in the middle of the briefing of some 20 officials, they received word that President Trump wanted an audience with them as soon as possible. But he was quickly sidelined by chief of staff John Kelly and closely managed by former staff secretary Rob Porter.

Recent actions by the Trump administration will also set back hopes of a successful renegotiation of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement (KORUS).

Mr. Navarro, a former Harvard PhD economics professor whose ideas were once considered well outside the mainstream, joined The Trump Campaign in Y 2016 after one of his books on China caught the eye of Jared Kushner during an Internet search. Asked why it has taken Trump so long to visit the state, Sanders said, "I think it's because he's been busy growing the economy, creating jobs, defeating ISIS, remaking the judiciary".

When he described Cohn as a globalist Trump drew a smiles from cabinet members around the table, including Cohn himself who was sitting behind the president.

The President is "strongly considering" Christopher Liddell to lead the economic team at the White House, the New York Timesreports, citing two sources.

"Although these tariffs may have limited direct impact in New Mexico, the process - the uncertainty and rhetoric leading up to today - is a clear example of the dysfunction in the White House", Udall said.

Last week, the president announced his intention to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, though "announcement" overstates what happened.

Trump dusted off an obscure section of American trade law: It says the president can impose tariffs on imports that pose a threat to US security.

Persuasive to like-minded Trump, perhaps, but not to many free-trade-loving Republicans.

The 25 percent levy on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminium goods could be wiped for Canada and Mexico as the United States renegotiates terms of its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The third option is a mixture of tariffs and quotas, which would consist of imposing stiff tariffs on South Korea, China and Brazil, while giving relatively lenient quotas to Canada, Mexico and the EU.